The Thomas Alleyne Academy is an academy in

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. It was founded in 1558, when the original school was set up from the will of

Thomas Alleyne Thomas Alleyne ( – 1558) was an English priest of the sixteenth century. He is remembered for founding schools. Details of his early life are lacking, although he appears to have had roots in Staffordshire where he later endowed two schools. ...

. It become an academy in 2013. It is situated at the northern end of Stevenage High Street, in Stevenage Old Town, adjacent to the roundabout of the A1072 and the A602 (former A1), and more than 200 metres to the east of the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

. The academy has 180 in each year group and is a popular school, with Year 7 places usually oversubscribed. The school was inspected by Ofsted in October 2019 and retained a 'Good' rating. In 2017 the school converted all lighting to LED; a project funded by The Educational Social Enterprise Fund for LED Lighting. In the same year the school moved their heating system from gas to Biomass fuel. The biomass system is fuelled with wood pellets obtained from sustainable forests. In the summer of 2020, the 1950s science block was renovated using a Capital Improvement Fund government grant, upgrading the outdated 1950s labs. The current head teacher at the Thomas Alleyne Academy is Mr Mark Lewis. Mark Lewis is also the managing director of the Hart Schools Trust, a Multi-Academy Trust incorporating Roebuck Academy in Stevenage.

History

The school was founded in 1558 and named after Thomas Alleyne, who was rector of Stevenage. In his will, Thomas Alleyne left money that was used to found Master Allen's school. The name was changed to Alleyne's Grammar School in 1869.

20th Century

Francis Cammaerts Francis Charles Albert Cammaerts, DSO (16 June 1916 – 3 July 2006), code named Roger, was an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sa ...

(1916–2006), French Resistance leader and witness in the ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' Trial, was headmaster from 1952 to 1961.

was the author Michael Morpurgo's uncle. Morpurgo wrote a fictional story based on his uncle's experiences in WWII 'In the Mouth of the Wolf'. The

Vincent motorcycle Vincent Motorcycles was a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1928 to 1955. The business was established by Philip Vincent who bought an existing manufacturing name HRD, initially renaming it as ''Vincent HRD'', producing his own motorcy ...

factory was based in the current Thomas Alleyne Academy reception between 1928 and 1955. There is a plaque on the reception building commemorating the Vincent motorcycle champion

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * Ge ...

In 1969 the school became a comprehensive, Alleyne's School. In 1989 it merged with Stevenage Girls' School and changed to its name to Thomas Alleynes School.

21st Century

In 2008, the school became a Specialist Science College and received funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Familie to upgrade Science and ICT facilities. During the summer of 2012, Thomas Alleyne's was chosen to choose a torchbearer to run with the torch for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. The school became an

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 2013, in partnership with the Hart School Trust The school is still on the site it has occupied for four and a half centuries, a short walk both from Thomas Alleyne's Church and from his home.

Academy Status

In March 2013, the School (as it was then known) requested to turn into an

. On Sunday 1 September 2013, Alleynes became an academy, with links to

North Hertfordshire College North Hertfordshire College ("NHC") is a further education and higher education college operating in Stevenage, Hitchin, and Letchworth Garden City. NHC was established on 1 April 1991, through the amalgamation of Stevenage College, Hitchin Co ...

. This means that the academy is now funded directly by central government and not the Local Authority, allowing Alleynes more control over finances and their curriculum.

Notable former pupils

Alleyne's Grammar School

* Sir

Henry Chauncy Sir Henry Chauncy (12 April 1632 – April 1719) was an English lawyer, topographer and antiquarian. He is best known for his county history of Hertfordshire, published in 1700. Life He was born in Ardeley (then known as Yardley), Hertfordshir ...

, historian * Geoffrey Howard, grandson of Sir

Ebenezer Howard Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 – 1 May 1928) was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication '' To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform'' (1898), the description of a utopian city in wh ...

, pioneer of garden cities * Harry Bates, 1850 to 1899, one of the finest English artists of the nineteenth century *

Ken Hensley Kenneth William David Hensley (24 August 1945 – 4 November 2020) was an English musician, singer, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep during the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote the majority of ...

1956–1961, of the rock band Uriah Heep

Alleyne's School

Graham Poll Graham Poll (born 29 July 1963) is an English former football referee in the Premier League. With 26 years of experience, he was one of the most prominent referees in English football, often taking charge of the highest-profile games. His final ...

, referee

Notable former Staff

* Roger Luxton (OBE) principal adviser and finally director of children's services at Barking and Dagenham, former school governor *

Tony McWalter Joseph Anthony McWalter, generally known as Tony McWalter, (born 20 March 1945 in Worksop) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Labour Party and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead between 1997 and 2005. Early ...

MP for Hemel Hempstead from 1997 till 2005. Worked at the school from 2005 till 2019 *

(

Headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

)

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

Agent during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

External links

The Thomas Alleyne Academy

Ofsted Inspection Report

Old Alleynians

Get Information About Schools (gov.uk)

Thomas Alleyne Supporters Association (TASA)

News items

* https://www.thecomet.net/news/education/stevenage-s-thomas-alleyne-school-and-airbus-flying-challenge-5425308 Stevenage students off to a flying start with Airbus mentoring scheme (Oct 2019) *http://www.thecomet.net/news/gcse_results_thomas_alleyne_stevenage_1_1491162 Student from the Thomas Alleyne School carries Olympic Torch through Stevenage Old Town * http://www.106jack.com/news/local-news/olympic-torch-relay-meet-hertfordshires-torchbearers/ MP Praises Thomas Alleyne students on a school charity day to raise money to "Send my friend to school" * http://www.theadvertisergroup.co.uk/Education-and-Training/MP-praises-pupils-support-of-poor-African-students-18072012.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas Alleyne Academy The 1558 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1550s Secondary schools in Hertfordshire Academies in Hertfordshire Schools in Stevenage Grade II listed educational buildings Grade II listed buildings in Hertfordshire